Federal approval will mean that the project could clear environmental approval in as few as 18 months instead of the more normal 4 years.

"The Multi-Model system is going to bring more transit and greater connectivity and give us more energy as the economic center of the South," Mayor Reed added.

Even though the two are separate issues, some had speculated that the Obama administration might hold off on fast-tracking the proposed transportation hub until they saw how the metro area and Georgia voted on next Tuesday's transportation sales tax referendum.

But that's obviously not the case.

Mayor Reed and Congressman John Lewis (D-Atlanta) are set to make a formal announcement at a site overlooking the gulch Friday morning.